San Ramon Street Sighting - 1939 Nash Lafayette

Welcome to another edition of Independents' Week, one of my favorite series of the year. It's where we commemorate the 4th of July with some automobiles produced by independent American automakers. That means nothing from Ford, General Motors or Chrysler.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1967 Ford Falcon

This has to be one of the most visually interesting cars I photographed in 2015. The '67 Ford Falcon never set out to be exciting originally, just a basic economy car that lived in the shadow of the Mustang. Ford produced a car that checked the boxes for a car of the era: Four doors, two doors, station wagon; six or eight cylinders; automatic or manual, done. The body was conservatively styled and the chassis conservatively engineered. The colors it was offered in were generally conservative as well. Nothing about this car really stands out, but for the incredible patina it wears.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1964 Rambler Classic 660

This is the car I always forget about in the AMC model hierarchy. The Classic was a midrange car during the Rambler years that made up the bulk of Rambler sales between 1961 and 1966. The first Classics were cheaply refreshed 1950s cars and the line only received a complete redesign in 1963. All Classics were six-cylinder economy cars until the '63 model year when the V8 from the large Ambassador was offered as an option.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1952 Ford F-1 Pickup

Some of the most interesting vehicles turn up when I'm not actively carspotting. I was with a friend in San Francisco, searching for parking near the Cable Car Museum when we happened upon this '52 Ford pickup. Ultimately we did find street parking and managed to visit the museum, but not before I took a moment to shoot the old truck.

Alameda Street Sighting - 1939 Ford V8 Panel Truck

Ahh, patina. One man's restoration project is another man's rat rod. Coming to Alameda from Barn Fine Classics in Washington state is this '39 Ford panel truck with not very much paint but a whole lot of character.

Los Angeles Street Sighting - 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V

Okay, full disclosure. This car belongs to my friend, who purchased it in L.A. a few years ago for $600 to save it from being crushed. These photos were taken the first time I ever laid eyes on it. This is also perhaps the only street sighting to date which I've actually ridden in.

Danville Street Sighting - 1975 Pontiac Astre SJ

It's funny how people lampoon one car for being terrible to the point it becomes infamous, and completely forget that rebadges of the same car even exist. Such is the case with the Pontiac Astre. The Astre was a rebadge job on the Chevrolet Vega, now famous for its rust problems and unreliable 2.3 liter aluminum-block engines. The Astre was sold in Canada only from 1973 to '74, then it came to the US market in '75 as Pontiac's smallest and cheapest model.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1946 Chevrolet 1-1/2 Ton Flatbed Truck

Let me just start this post by saying I'm not an expert on medium-duty commercial trucks. My identification of this truck is a best guess since the Chevy trucks didn't change a whole lot between 1941 and 1946 (1947 for the bigger ones). Near as I can tell, this is a '46 Model 4408, Series OS, 1-1/2 ton cab and platform truck with the 160-inch wheelbase. Or maybe not. Any help is appreciated.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1968 Dodge Coronet 440

Oh boy, if cars could talk. The 1968 Dodge Coronet sedan was not a particularly exciting vehicle, but I find this one fascinating.

Berkeley Street Sighting - 1957 Fiat 600 Multipla

Can we all agree that specialized repair shops are awesome? One hidden gem in the odd, anti-car People's Republic of Berkeley is an unassuming little corrugated aluminum building with no sign, located next to a creepy-looking old house with the word "eternal" painted on it. This is Conrad Stevenson Restorations, a treasure trove for lovers of vintage Alfa Romeos, Fiats and the occasional classic Ferrari or Lancia. This is a man who builds race cars and races them, too, whether it's for the 24 Hours of LeMons or the Monterey Historics. But he has an eye for the unusual as well. Naturally, he has a Fiat 600 Multipla. Scratch that, he has at least two.

San Francisco Street Sighting - 1951 International Harvester L-110 Pickup

I haven't featured a whole lot of trucks here, mainly because most old trucks are pretty ordinary. It's the oddball manufacturers mostly that interest me, or at least anything that's not Ford or Chevy. Maybe it's something that's just visually unique and cool, and maybe even pre-1960. Every so often you run across something that satisfies all of those criteria. You get something like this 1951 International Harvester L-110 pickup.